Leaks, who describes her style of music as jazz-funk-R&B-soul, may be new to the list of Grammy nominees, but she is not new to the music industry. She has toured and trained with some of the world’s best musicians for the last 20 years, including Stevie Wonder.

Her passion for music started at the young age of 6, and she nurtured her talent through school and into college, where she sang in the choir at Morgan State University.

“I just knew that [music] was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and I knew I was going to do it,” Leaks says.

An opportunity to break into the industry came about when Leaks was still in college: Stevie Wonder came into town for a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. At the time, he was looking for an alto background voice, and Leaks auditioned for the position.

She passed the audition, but still had a year left of school — something she was not willing to abandon.

“I asked Stevie if I could come out the next year, after I finish school, because I wanted to give my parents the degree they had sacrificed for,” she says

And Wonder said yes.

Leaks packed her bags and flew out to Los Angeles after graduation, where she sang with Wonder for about 10 months before moving on to her next experience.

A friend in Los Angeles let Leaks know about a London-based band that was looking for an American singer. Leaks auditioned over the phone, and the next thing she knew, she was shipping her belongings back to Baltimore and packing two suitcases for London at the age of 24.

After four years in London, Leaks decided to come back home to the states to launch her solo career, and since then, she has spent her time building her career in her hometown of Baltimore.

The Song That Sends Her Back to Los Angeles

While working on her latest album, Leaks decided she wanted to record a cover song. One day, Leaks was driving in the car when Nancy Wilson’s version of “Quiet Fire” came on the radio.